Both Prince Charles and Prince Philip write to support ARC’s Japan event

HRH the Prince Philip, founder of ARC, and HRH Prince Charles have both written strong letters of support for Traditions for the Future, co-hosted with Jinja Honcho and ARC at Ise Pilgrim Centre and the Shima Kanko hotel from June 1-4 2014.

In his letter Prince Philip recalled that 15 years ago he had himself discussed the conservation of nature with the then Daigachi of Ise, a conversation that inspired the dialogue between ARC and Shintoism that has led to this great collaboration. He celebrates the Ise event as an historic occasion "marking the beginning of a new sense of respect and responsibility for the health and well-being of the natural environment in Japan."

HRH Prince Charles: "without a genuine sense of the sacred nothing is sacred."

Prince Charles noted, in his letter, that "the rebuilding of the Ise Shrine in, and for, each generation is a magnificent example of how the best values of the past can inform and shape our future.

"Using wood grown in your own sacred forest teaches the next generation how to create objects of beauty from the gifts that Nature provides. I do hope that people may learn to appreciate better not only the wisdom of teaching every generation these traditional arts, but also the remarkable beauty of traditional Japanese architecture".

He thanked the Shinto for reminding us that "while so much environmental literature talks about mankind protecting the forests, it is, of course, the forests that actually protect us!”